The Animal By-Products (Identification) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Animal By-Products (Identification) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/614, as already amended) in so far as they extend to England. The 1995 Regulations extend to the whole of Great Britain.

The substantive amendments made by these Regulations to the 1995 Regulations are as follows—

(a) in paragraph 1 of regulation 2 (interpretation)—

• the definition of “animal by-product premises” is amended to exclude cold stores and cutting premises;

• the definition of “game processing facility” is amended to exclude cold stores and cutting premises;

• the definition of “occupier” is extended to include the occupier of a cold store or cutting premises;

• the definition of “stained” is amended so as to provide that, in the case of animal by-products comprising entire poultry carcases, it means that the stain solution has been applied after the surface of the carcase has been opened by multiple and deep incisions; and

• definitions are inserted of the phrases “cold store”, “cutting premises” and “slaughterhouse” (regulation 2(2));

  (b)

  regulation 4 (scope) is replaced with a provision which provides that the only whole carcases which have to be sterilised or stained are whole poultry carcases which are dead on arrival at a slaughterhouse or which are rejected following pre-slaughter or post-mortem health inspections carried out at such premises (regulation 2(3));

  (c)

  the exemption from the requirement as to staining or sterilisation imposed by regulations 6 and 7 which is contained in regulation 5(2)(a) and which operates in favour of poultry by-products is removed and replaced with an exemption which operates in favour of poultry heads and feet which have been subjected to a post-mortem veterinary inspection and which, during the course of the inspection, did not show gross pathological lesions indicating disease communicable to man or animals (regulation 2(4));

  (d)

  the exemption from the requirement as to staining or sterilisation imposed by regulations 6 and 7 which is contained in regulation 5(2)(c) and which operates in favour of green offal intended to be removed from animal by-products premises, game processing facilities and slaughterhouses is extended to apply in favour of cold stores and cutting premises also (regulation 2(5));

  (e)

  regulation 6 (which currently imposes requirements with respect to the sterilisation and staining of animal by-products in slaughterhouses and game processing facilities only) is replaced with a provision which applies in relation to cold stores and cutting premises also (regulation 2(6));

  (f)

  regulation 8 (which currently imposes requirements in relation to freezing animal by-products in animal by-products premises, game processing facilities and slaughterhouses only) is replaced with a provision which applies in relation to cold stores and cutting premises also (regulation 2(7));

  (g)

  regulation 9 (which currently imposes requirements in relation to the storage and packaging of animal by-products) is replaced with a provision which imposes requirements with respect to the storage of unsterilised animal by-products in the same room as products intended for human consumption and in cold stores, cutting premises, game processing facilities and slaughterhouses (regulation 2(8)); and

  (h)

  regulation 10 (which currently imposes restrictions on the movement of animal by-products from animal by-products premises, game processing facilities and slaughterhouses only) is replaced with a provision which applies in relation to cold stores and cutting premises also (regulation 2(9)).

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in respect of these Regulations. A copy of it has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Further copies of the assessment can be obtained from the Meat Hygiene Division (White Meat Branch) of the Food Standards Agency, Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London WC2B 6NH.